All Chapters of The Bed That Never Had Room for Me: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

Grace's POVI got out of bed, threw on my clothes, and headed toward the door.My boyfriend, Lyle Holloway, called after me, "Where are you going?"Ignoring him, I kept my head down as I laced up my shoes. Under the threatening glare of my best friend, Pamela Sinclair, he ultimately apologized, though he sounded reluctant. "I guess I… went a bit too far earlier."Still, I walked straight out the door. At this point, Lyle's patience completely ran out. "Haven't you had enough? Where could you possibly go in the middle of the night? Does the whole world have to bend over backward for you because of your mother's tragedy?"Before I could answer, Pamela ran over and grasped my arm, gripping it so tightly it hurt. Her eyes were red, and tears were already streaming down her face. "Grace… I'll explain things to you. Please don't do anything rash. Don't do something you'll regret!"I lowered my gaze to look at her hand. Then, I chuckled.I freed my hand from her grasp. "The dumbe

Chapter 2

Grace's POVMy aunt Hannah Graham's cautious voice came through the phone, brimming with delight. "Have you thought it through, Grace? Before your mother passed away, the person she worried about most was you. "That whole tragedy left you with such a deep trauma… I've always been afraid you'd get stuck in it. Now that you've finally come around, I'm just so…"She paused for a moment before regaining her composure. "I'll book your ticket. How does tomorrow afternoon sound?" I blinked my dry, aching eyes. "That sounds fine. I'll go back and pack my things. I'll see you at the airport tomorrow afternoon."After hanging up, I found a nearby hotel and checked in. The bed was clean and untouched. No one had slept in it, and it was free of anyone else's scent. For the first time in a long while, I slept remarkably well. …I slept until the following afternoon before returning home. When I pushed the door open, I realized no one was home. I headed straight for the master bedroom

Chapter 3

Grace's POVAfter wrestling with it for a long while, I ended up taking a cab to the address the doctor had given me. At the end of the day, Pamela's life was on the line, and I couldn't just stand by and watch her die…When I burst into the hospital, I saw a familiar face. It was Lyle; he was leaning against the wall with an anxious look on his face. When he heard hurried footsteps, he lifted his head to glance at me. Before I could even ask what was going on, the doctor stepped out of the operating room. The moment he spotted Lyle, he fumed, "You youngsters are seriously too reckless! You need to show some restraint in bed! Your girlfriend had a ruptured corpus luteum cyst this time. "Fortunately, she was brought here before it was too late. If not, she could've suffered massive internal bleeding. That could've cost her her life!" I stood rooted to the floor, as if someone had slapped me across the face. A ruptured corpus luteum cyst… So I had rushed all the way here just t

Chapter 4

Grace's POVA wave of utter absurdity washed over me. It turned out that when pain reached its limit, it somehow began to feel almost laughable. I curled my lips into a mocking smile. "So what, I'm supposed to thank you now for aborting my boyfriend's child?" Her lips quivered, and she reached for my wrist. That was when I noticed a silver ring on her ring finger. The silver was distinctive, with a muted, grayish-white sheen. My whole body went rigid. I recognized it in an instant. After Mom died, I had mixed a small amount of her ashes into molten silver and personally forged this simple band. The first night I gave myself to Lyle, I slipped the ring onto his finger. Back then, he promised me tenderly, "I'll never take it off, Grace. When we get married, I'll put it on your finger and let your aunt see with her own eyes that you've found a home."But now, it was on Pamela's finger… My whole body began to tremble. "Where did you get this ring?" Pamela averted her gaze, ye

Chapter 5

Grace's POVI rolled down the window half an inch, and the autumn wind left my cheeks numb. The image of the silver ring being thrown out of the window replayed on a loop in my head, making my chest tighten so hard I could barely breathe. My phone kept buzzing incessantly in my pocket with incoming calls from Pamela. I ignored them. My fingers flew across the screen as I typed out my flight number and sent it to Aunt Hannah. "Aunt Hannah, I am boarding soon. Meet me at the airport." Once it went through, I pulled up my contacts, blocked and deleted Lyle's and Pamela's phone numbers, and got rid of all of our photos. The cab pulled up outside the terminal. I clutched my small carry-on bag and walked into the departure hall. …Third-Person POVMeanwhile, Lyle sat beside Pamela in the hospital room. Pamela held her phone and called Grace's number over and over again, leaning weakly against the headboard with concern written all over her face. "Did we go too far? She's not

Chapter 6

Third-Person POVIn the month that followed, Lyle called Grace's number at the same times every morning, noon, and night. Every single time, the same cold, automated operator message played through the receiver, telling him that the number was unavailable. He combed through his contacts and messaged every one of their mutual friends to ask about her whereabouts. Not a single person knew where she had gone. Pamela showed up at his door with a thermal lunch box every day. Her eyes crinkled as she walked in. "I made your favorite chicken soup, Lyle. I bet you haven't been eating properly these days, keeping guard over this empty home."At first, he would take the lunch box and softly respond, "Thanks." Yet, as the days dragged on, the mere sight of Pamela began to irritate him. More often than not, he would merely give her a curt nod.One evening, Pamela brought over dinner as usual, rambling on about trivial matters. Lyle couldn't be bothered to listen to her, so he dismissed he

Chapter 7

Third-Person POVThe months passed by in the blink of an eye, marking a full year since Grace's departure. Lyle and Pamela saw each other less and less, and whenever they did, the atmosphere was tense and stifling. One night while eating out, Pamela braced herself against the table, her eyes red as she complained, "Ever since Grace left, you don't even want to talk to me anymore. You haven't gotten over her, have you?"Lyle pinched the bridge of his nose, his tone heavy with exhaustion. "Can you just give me some space? Stop bringing this up over and over again." The dinner ended on a bitter note. A few days later, Lyle was having drinks with a few old friends when the alcohol broke through his defenses. He lowered his head and admitted quietly, "I failed Grace." The friend, who was sitting across from him, sighed. "Why are you saying this now? You made your bed. Now, you have to lie in it." Not long after, Pamela got together with a few close friends and drank herself into

Chapter 8

Grace's POVA year and a half passed in the blink of an eye. One day, I received an email from the psychology department of a prestigious university back home. The university invited me to return to the country and give a guest lecture on the topic of rebuilding oneself in intimate relationships. I stared at the email and hesitated for an entire week, genuinely unable to decide whether I should set foot back in that city filled with painful memories again. Aunt Hannah noticed how conflicted I was. After taking the seat beside me, she gently patted the back of my hand. "Make the trip and put an end to all the regrets you left behind."I pondered over it all night before replying to the university and accepting the invitation. …Third-Person POVLyle bumped into an old classmate he hadn't seen in years at a business dinner. His classmate casually brought up, "Do you remember Grace from high school? She's about to come back to the country to give a psychology lecture."The

Chapter 9

Third-Person POVThe auditorium was packed to full capacity on the day of the lecture. Grace stood at the center of the stage in a simple white blouse, calm and composed. Lyle sat alone in a corner of the last row. The moment he had a good look at her, his eyes misted over. Grace went through the lecture in an orderly manner, calmly recounting her entire journey from being trapped in the pain of a double betrayal to healing from the psychological trauma it had caused. When she uttered the words, "You're not obligated to forgive anyone. Knowing when to walk away is the ultimate form of self-love," thunderous applause erupted from the audience.After the lecture concluded, the audience gradually got to their feet and began filing out. Grace lowered her head and bent over to organize her materials. Lyle slowly rose from the last row and made his way toward the podium, weaving through the crowd. When he stopped in front of her, his throat was dry and hoarse. "Grace."Her hands f

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